Parking is a hassle. Both from the perspective of the driver looking for a parking space as well as from the perspective of the administrator of the parking facility, the parking experience is tedious, inefficient, and often stressful. Traditionally, the allocation of parking spaces is administered on a first-come first-served basis. Even parking lots that charge a premium for parking find it difficult to manage since they often have to rely on old, often manual, systems.
Parking management systems have traditionally utilized paper tickets. These often have to be validated, but are easily susceptible to being damaged or lost. Cash-based parking facilities are susceptible to theft. In traditionally managed parking facilities there is often no efficient way to control traffic since drivers wander and hunt for a good parking space. This behavior leads to a lot of wasted time and driver frustration. Studies suggest that the average driver in major metropolitan areas spend an average of 20 minutes looking for a space and drive an average of 15 km a month during these searches. Facilities with permit systems usually use a tag-based system that determines that driver's permit, usually by zones. This requires an immense effort and cost on the part of the facility on enforcement and does not lead to an efficient and organized system.
Previous attempts to address the inefficiencies and frustrations described above have been developed in the current state of the art. Many of these have recognized the problem of ticket and cash-based systems. Others have attempted to address the issue by implementing electronic payment systems. Still others have attempted to solve the issue through the use of reserved spaces. Attempts to address the problems found in the current state of the art have been lacking in one element or another.
It would, therefore, be desirable to have the ability to rent and/or reserve spaces ahead of time, with a pre-determined space assignment, that greatly reduces traffic congestion and parking frustration by implementing a fully automatic, intelligent cloud-based system that does not require tickets, tags, or employees. Therefore, there currently exists a need in the industry for a system for intelligently managing parking spaces and facilities where the system comprises any or all of a one or more software application, an Internet portal, and a one or more apparatus to offer a complete and comprehensive solution that does not sacrifice convenience for control but rather greatly increases the user experience of the drivers while at the same time improving the control of the facility administrator.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act, or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act, or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was, at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.